


I'll Hold The Stars (They're All Yours)

by sunshinesubarus



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fallen Angels, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-05-20 14:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19378657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinesubarus/pseuds/sunshinesubarus
Summary: Years upon years ago, there was a legend of the gods that rule above our land.They governed the human race, they weren't supposed to put anything before our wellbeing because if they did then that would compromise their judgement and cloud it permanently. In our world, love is something extraordinary and beautiful, but love, to the gods, was something dangerous.Two of our deities, Izumi and Leo, fell in love. They were soulmates, which is what we're led to believe. Upon being found out they were cursed to roam the earthen realm for eternity, deemed to never fly amongst the stars and through the clouds again.Izumi was cursed to always chase Leo across the world, and Leo would never remember who his soulmate was when he was found. And then, Izumi would be forced to watch as he was taken away.This could mean he was either killed, or fell in love with another.They were cursed, but their story teaches us what love is.





	1. I

Izumi looks out on the Eiffel tower from where he’s standing, the sun slowly setting behind and the silhouette cast is rather large.

 

His skin is cold, and the layers of clothing covering him are hardly enough to keep him warm. It’s surprisingly hard looking after a human body, he thought he’d get used to it after the first hundred years but he’s still struggling.

 

Maybe that’s why he’s so grumpy all the time. It’d make a lot more sense.

 

He lifts his hands, stretching them upwards to the sky and letting out a silent yawn. He’s lost count of how many times he’s been reincarnated on earth.

 

It hasn’t really been tiring, it’s been much more defeating than anything. Hundreds upon hundreds of years, and he’s been stuck in an infinite loop because every time he’s failed to save the person who means the most to him.

 

Whilst he understands he knows that both of them are being punished because they committed a taboo, he wishes that this hadn’t happened.

 

Cold air embraces him, the sunlight slowly disappearing, and sucking what little warmth is left in the air with it. The Eiffel tower is still beautiful in the moonlight, but it isn’t as majestic at night. Instead, Izumi thinks the word for it is haunting, there’s something haunting about how the moon creates a slight glow around the very top of the tower.

 

Alone, that’s what he’s been. That’s what he knows Leo is, but every time they’re reincarnated they lose each other. Leo ends up somewhere that Izumi can never hope to find, and he has to start his search all over again.

 

Paris is where he always finds himself starting or ending, it’s never in the middle. He’s travelled the entire world chasing the one boy throughout his lifetimes, and every time he gets close he loses him again.

 

Flashes of death and loss appear in his mind, and he closes his eyes, flinching away from them because they physically hurt. His chest pangs and there are hot tears welling up in his eyes. He ignores it all though, he pushes it down because this is another chance.

 

This is another chance for him to find his true love after losing him again, the search has started again. There’s nothing he can do because this was the punishment ordained him by the high court.

 

Both of them are under punishment, but seeing as he’d taken the brunt of the blame it had been unanimously decided that it was he who should suffer the most. So it was decided after they were found out, that it would be him to be continuously sent to chase after his long lost love.

 

The curse though, was that he knew that Leo would never be his again. He’d never get to hold him close because he knew every time that they were close, he’d be taken away again.

 

Izumi is then forced to live out his days and life, with nothing and no one. The loneliness has become all-consuming.

 

It’s gotten to the point where he’s prayed, prayed to the high court and gods above that cursed him to let him die. To let him and Leo rest forever, but nothing, this is their curse and he’s stuck in a never-ending loop.

 

It’s a complete nightmare, recurring and unstoppable. He’s even tried breaking the loop in past lives by trying to sneak away, ignore everything and be happy with a girl. Their smiles had never been the same, they’d never made warmth explode in his chest and his cheeks heat up.

 

Everything in each relationship had been so fake. Every person he’d been with had known there was someone else but they’d stayed because they loved him, despite the fact that he’s only filled with anger and misery. It hurts that they had, but that’s what he’d needed because he’d managed to somehow persuade himself that he didn’t need Leo.

 

Love is something fragile and fickle because it wavers. It turns invisible, it becomes haunting like the Eiffel tower in the moonlight. The cold, harsh loneliness of his reality is here, it’s the bitter cold that picks at the soft skin of his hands. It’s the touch starvation that causes his skin to itch.

 

It’s suffocating.

 

As he looks to the stars above, he knows he’s being watched by the world above that he and Leo had been thrown down from. The stars are watching, and he knows exactly who hides behind each one as he looks up.

 

He’s tempted to reach up and give his old friends a wave, to let them know that he’s doing okay…

 

But no one up there cares about him anymore. Not after he’d let himself fall for another, not after he gave his soul to another being. Both of them had once been gods that traipsed the skies, looking down on the earth below them.

 

Humans were supposed to come before anything else.

 

 

 

He’s not someone who hides everything, he tends to let it be known when he’s upset. It doesn’t necessarily have to be upset, but it’s easier, to be honest with others than let things fester. Though, when it comes down to it, he finds it rather hard, to be honest when it comes to things on a deeper level.

 

The only person who’s really seen passed his harsh abruptness was Leo, he saw through to his inner workings. He didn’t just understand why Izumi was rude towards people, he understood how he shows fondness and love.

 

Talking about things is difficult, and something he’d rather not do. If he was to ever let someone in again, it would be Leo.

 

 

 

 

Izumi turns around from the tower, leaving it behind him as he begins to walk through Paris. Despite the fact that he’s been alone for so long, he’s still not used to the silence that surrounds him. Sure, there’s background noise but it’s more white noise than anything else.

 

Leo would always be rather loud when they would walk through areas alone, hiding behind whatever wall they could. He has to stop himself from grinning as he remembers the way they had to sneak away from everyone, playing a treacherous game of hide and seek that was risking it all.

 

The two of them had attempted to run away when they’d been found out. Their hands had been interlocked.

 

In the end, it clearly didn’t work out.

 

Though, he knows that he has another lifetime to find Leo.

 

It’s bittersweet, but they have each other forever in a sick, twisted way.

 

There’s a small restaurant, small lights decorate the outside. There are candles on the small wooden tables, some with three or four seats. Others have two, and his heart drops. Sitting in the very corner of the small outside area is Leo, the candle casting a warm orange glow on his face.

 

He wouldn’t trade it for the world, because it’s now that they get to start again.

 

 

Izumi carefully makes his way over to Leo, making sure it's him because somehow it doesn't seem possible. Ever since he'd been reborn into this life, he'd felt some type of magnetic pull. It had never faded and it was only when he realised where that pull was leading that he found himself running all across the world.

 

He'd run all the way across the world to get to Paris, it had taken him years to save the money. There's no way for him to know how Leo had ended up in Paris, no way for him to gauge how long he'd been here or if he'd lived here.

 

Izumi finds a smile overcoming him, one that he tries to hide because he'd rather not be seen smiling creepily at a stranger the way he is right now. Though, he isn't met with an odd look or stare but instead soft eyes and a welcoming smile.

 

"Do you mind if I take a seat?"

 

His words hang in the air, and there isn't even a second of silence that passes before Leo nods. His smile widening ever so slightly, it's picturesque. The way his skin seems to glow in the soft light coming from the candle in the middle of the table.

 

It's as if it's something that's been taken out of a movie.

 

There's something oddly nice about sitting in silence with someone who's both equally a stranger, and your closest friend.

 

"What's your name?"

 

Leo brings his hand up from where it's been on the table and rests his chin on it. There's genuine curiosity in his eyes. Izumi swears he sees the flickering light of recognition and he feels like he's falling from the skies all over again.

 

"Izumi, Izumi Sena, and you?"

 

"Leo Tsukinaga, it's my pleasure."

 

This manages to get a scoff from Izumi as he attempts to shield a laugh. He probably fails, but he's thankful that Leo doesn't say anything about it. because if he did he doesn't really know where he would go from there. He doesn't necessarily like smiling too much.

 

He used to always be teased by the younger deities that his face would become fixed in a permanent scowl as punishment for not smiling more.

 

He misses them, he misses Hokuto and Subaru, he'd always have to look after them and make sure that they weren't breaking the rules. Which, now that he thinks of it, was rather ironic because it was really him that was breaking every single rule with Leo.

 

But if humans could love....why couldn't they?

 

"Are you from here?"

 

Leo's voice washes over his ears, tearing him from memories and thoughts. He's plunged back into reality, and his eyes immediately fix on back on Leo again. In all the centuries that he's been chasing Leo, there's never been a question initiated by him.

 

Hope blooms slowly in his chest, he tries to quash it. To push it in the deep recesses of his mind, because it's too good to be true. He may be a divine being, but he's died over a hundred deaths, and so has Leo.

 

There's no hope that this ploy, this punishment for their taboo, has failed. There are never gaps, Izumi's tried to find every single one of them.

 

"You could say that, but I've just been travelling for the last few months, I'm originally from Japan."

 

"Ah, you are too? God, it's nice to finally meet someone from home..."

 

Leo's eyes light up, and his tilts to the side. He hasn't even got rid of the very same mannerisms that Izumi loved so much when they were together. Every single time they meet again, he finds himself learning more and more about Leo.

 

It's silly, well, that's what he thinks. How can he learn more about his soulmate? He already knows everything but Leo always just has to prove him wrong.

 

It's not fair.

 

"It's definitely a nice change of pace..."

 

Silence falls between them again, and Izumi finds his eyes tracing the outline of Leo's body. He remembers his warmth, the way his laugh sounded as they flew through the clouds. His hands itch to hold him, to bring him in close like he's missed out on for the entirety of this lifetime, because now that he's found Leo again, who knows when he'll be taken away again.

 

Tori isn't kind. He's reasonable, harsh and judgemental, that's why he holds control over everything. He knows all, to the point that it's terrifying.

 

"Why were you travelling then? Don't tell me you were hunting for treasure..."

 

"Treasure? Why would I be hunting for treasure?"

 

Izumi tries not to let himself become too loud, because he may not be hunting for treasure but he was definitely chasing something or someone. But Leo can't know that, and he definitely won't own up to hunting for some type of treasure because that's just ridiculous.

 

No one hunts for treasure in this day and age, sure they did hundreds and hundreds of years ago...but it's a completely different story now. Treasure hunters have become people who are deemed insane or suffering from delusions of greatness.

 

Knowing to tread lightly, he just looks at Leo in the eyes. He ignores the warmth he feels in his cheeks and looks at him in the eyes

 

"I'm visiting loved ones."

 

And he knows that isn't a lie.

 

"Oh, that's so sweet! They must be really appreciative that you travel all the way from Japan just for them, ah, I wish I could find myself someone like that."

 

There's some type of mischevious look in Leo's eyes as he says that, his tongue is half poking out of his mouth. Before Izumi can comprehend what's happening, Leo reaches his hand out, beckoning him in closer.

 

Izumi's weak, and there's no way he would ever let himself say no to Leo, so he leans in closer. Leo whispers then, softly into his ear.

 

"I know everything, they failed this time."

 

Izumi feels his chest pang, and he ignores the tears welling up in his eyes as he pulls away.

 

"Don't cry you big softie, we still need to figure out how to get away from Tori."

 

"Shut up, it's been over one hundred years since you've recognised me."

 

Leo laughs then, and it echoes in the night sky, Izumi swears it's the most beautiful sound that he's ever heard.


	2. II

Leo knows that Izumi’s been waiting for him to remember. It’s evident in the way he tries to stuff down his tears and emotions, hiding them from him. Whilst he remembers Izumi, he doesn’t remember anything but small snippets from the last few centuries of their lives.

 

He remembers the dread when they’d been called to chambers by the high council. The way the clouds below them had darkened upon finding out that the two of them had committed a taboo. 

 

But why is love taboo?

 

Why can humans love, but not the gods? None of it makes sense, because as they’ve been cast down, they’ve always found each other. Even if he could never remember Izumi, he remembers the way he’d always find him, whether it be as a lonesome king that he’d sworn his loyalty too without knowing, or as a slave under his family.

 

Izumi had always found him and taken care of him.

 

Every time though, Leo had left. He’d died at the arms of another, himself or sickness. He remembers dying on by sword, and hearing Izumi run up to him and screaming because it hurt. He remembers killing himself in captivity whilst Izumi was on guard, everything he remembers holds Izumi.

 

Even if he wasn’t close, there’s always a glimpse of silver hair and blue eyes.

Izumi’s hand is around his, and he’s squeezing so tightly that Leo is sure the circulation is about to be cut off. He relishes in the purity of this moment.

 

The moment when long lost lovers finally come together again.

 

They complete each other, Izumi is harsh and someone who hides his affection behind sharp edges. Leo, however, is loud and boisterous, his complete opposite. They fill in each other’s gaps.

 

It’s perfect.

 

Leo knows that they were made for each other, deep down, he knows it. He thinks Izumi does as well, though the other would never admit it. The day that Izumi talks about his feelings instead of pretending that they don’t exist is the day the world will end as far as he’s concerned.

 

“You know, if we want to get away with this, it’s gonna take a lot, you sure you’re up for it?”

 

Izumi quickly reorganises himself as soon as he hears that, his cheeks becoming less flushed and his eyes sharpening. He moves his hand out of Leo’s and crosses them across his chest.

 

“If you do this alone, who’s gonna be the one to get you out of trouble huh?”

 

Leo just smiles widely, he feels himself becoming lighter and giddier at the prospect of being up to no good again. Even if he’s going to have to reign it in to keep them off of the radar of those who govern the skies.

 

“You know...I was pretty good friends with Keito, maybe he could get me out of trouble?”

 

“You’re an idiot if you think he’ll do anything to help you now.”

 

“And I bet you think that Makoto can help us, somehow?”

 

Silence falls over the two as they look at each other, trying to get them to admit the other is right but really, there’s no point since they’re both a bit too hardheaded. 

 

As their gazes soften, it’s him who speaks up first.

 

“Ah, we’re really in for it this time, aren’t we…

 

Our friends aren’t gonna helps us here and we need to start from scratch and figure out the hell we’re gonna get away from them, because I’d imagine they’d have to have planned this, right?”

 

“Mm, yeah, but we all know that Eichi stood down as head deity when he broke his own rules, and we all collectively sent him down below because he wanted nothing but torture for those who lived in this realm.”

 

Izumi’s eyes are closed as he tries to think, his voice is dripping with determination. His chin is rested in his hand, and as he opens his eyes there’s determination shining in them, clear as day.

 

“But what if…”

 

Leo catches on then, Izumi’s lips moving into a smirk. 

 

Surely not….He can’t be thinking about releasing Eichi after everything he’s done...The carnage he caused.

 

It’s enough to make chills move up Leo’s spine slowly, cold and unwelcome. He knows that once Izumi’s come up with something there’s almost no talking him down from it. And even if Eichi could end all of them with his power, there are at least some people who’ll fight with them to get him on their side.

 

But if they bring up Eichi then they know that they’ll have to fight against those above…

 

Shu...

 

“My love, if we attempt to bring Eichi above with us and free him from the chains that hold him under,”

 

Leo gestures to the ground. There, deep below,  there’s a path that not even the gods can follow. It’s impossible to cross, not without the help of those who know it better than anyone. 

 

But they’re there to keep Eichi locked away, to make sure that no one ever dares to walk it. 

 

“We have to cross a treacherous path, a path only known by the Valkyries…”

 

Whilst they’re not maidens as mythology states, they extract the souls from wandering folk and take them to the high chambers that sit in the clouds.

 

“Then we just have to get them on our side.”

 

Izumi says it sounding like there’s nothing easier than getting the two gatekeepers of wrath itself, to let wrath reign freely. 

 

“God, you’ve really outdone yourself with this plot, haven’t you?”

 

“Well, dear, this isn’t exactly the first time we’ve broken the rules.”

 

Leo smiles largely before letting out a boisterous laugh because this is what he’s missed. He’s missed coming up with constant schemes with reason being thrown completely out of the window. 

 

He’s not wrong, they know how to work behind the back of those watching closely. They always have. 

 

As Leo thinks of home for the first time in centuries he remembers something, something that could help them more than ever. 

 

The goddess deemed as vanity and beauty. 

 

The only female powerful enough to be given such a status. She’d also created one of the valkyries upon request of Tori after the war, wherein carnage fell upon both the godly realm and earthly. There was not only their blood spilt, but also blood spilt of those below.

 

Wars broke out all across the world, the blood of innocents was spilt. It flowed into rivers and was absorbed by the earth. 

 

Wrath was taken over, but only with the power of the Gods collectively as they finally came together to cast him down. Then, Fear was sent down to make sure that no one ever went searching to free Eichi, and Vanity was tasked to create a Valkyrie.

 

That’s how Mika came to be, and Fear quickly adapted. Both of them now inhabit the uncertain path to where Wrath is trapped. 

 

“It’s certainly not, but we both know that we can’t exactly do it alone this time, whilst we’re both geniuses, we’re not that cunning…”

 

Leo isn’t usually one to say such things, because he knows that he’s smart. He knows how to wriggle in and out of hard situations, how to get away unscathed but after the last few centuries he isn’t particularly willing to leave things up to chance.

 

He’s always been someone to do things impulsively, without thinking and only weighs the pros and cons as they happen. But now, he feels as if his judgement has become rather jaded - he isn’t sure whether that’s a good or bad thing. It’s clear though, that Izumi’s having the same type of thought, a plan already under construction in his head. Leo can tell because as he looks over, his eyes aren’t open anymore, but instead shut softly and his lips are moving as he speaks inaudibly to himself. 

 

His head lifts then, his eyes widen and there’s something cold about them. Determination is what’s pouring out of him, cold and harsh. Something is formulating in the recesses of his mind. Intensity is only drawing Leo in more and more. It's intoxicating as if some type of drug.

 

“Sena…” 

 

Leo pauses, his mind running at a mile a minute. His heart’s beating fast enough that he can feel it hammering against his ribcage as if it’s about to burst out onto the table in front of them. 

 

“What are you thinking?”

 

“We both know we can’t do this alone, so wouldn’t it make sense for us to form some type of team?”

 

Leo doesn’t even get to interject as Izumi begins to speak, his words filling the empty air. The night sky around them heavy with not only the stars now, but with an intricate web curated to free them. Their plan to get away from this punishment, to show that love is something that should be for all, not just humans, but for otherworldly and immortal beings.

 

Because love is beautiful, and something that everything would crumble without. 

 

“So, you want us to somehow get those who are impossible on our side? Those who defied all odds and fought the high chambers until they were thrown to all different corners of this realm?”

 

“I knew you’d catch up to me.”

 

“Geez, you act like a child.”

 

“You’re not better.”

 

The two of them just look at each other, then shocked at how they managed to turn such an important conversation into childish push and pull. The atmosphere that surrounds them has melted, the tension now lifted.

 

Leo knows, he knows what he’ll do because he’d promised in another life that he’d be loyal to the end. But there’ll be no end for him, after all, they’re immortal beings trapped in human bodies. 

 

They don’t get an end.

 

So that means…

 

“I swore allegiance to you in a past life, that I would follow you until the end.”

 

_ A knight always protects his king. _

 

“And that means I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Darkness consumes the world around them. 

 

It’s what they’re used to, it’s been millennia since they ever saw the light of day. Shu doesn’t want to go back to it. 

 

Not when he has so many precious dolls down here. Each of them his precious children, but the most precious is that given to him by Vanity. The young Valkyrie who he’d deemed to be named Mika. His eyes shine in the darkness from where he’s sitting in front of Wrath’s cage, bright light shining through the cracks of the box that holds his force in.

 

It had taken something from every god to create something strong enough to hold such a power. It’s admirable that they could all come together like that, and it makes him especially happy to know that Wrath is rotting. 

 

Though right now, Wrath doesn’t seem to be their concern because he can hear the beginnings of possible rebellion from above. Whispers move throughout the cavern, resting on his and the precious ears of his dolls. Each of them restless and rising from where they rest in the ground.

 

“Oi, we should alert the high chambers.”

 

“No, my precious Mika, let’s be patient.”

 

“Naw, come on! I’ve never gotten to do anythin’ down here…”

 

Shu moves from where he was standing, walking elegantly over to where Mika sits with his back against the cage holding Wrath.

 

“Ah! Patience is a virtue, my dear Mika, trust me.”

 

“Fine, I’m trustin’ you.”

**Author's Note:**

> please leave feedback, I'm like a plant in the fact that your comments and kudos water me and inspire me!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ujivert) | [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/starhwas)


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